Following are questions frequently asked about the closures through community consultation and feedback the Archives has received so far.
They will be able to use our National Reference Service or access records online in the same ways that people in other parts of Australia access them. People can ring, mail, email or fax inquiries to our National Reference Service, and can also order copies of records. The vast majority of people access records online, rather than in Reading Rooms. Last year 1.9 million records were accessed online, compared to 57,000 in Archives’ Reading Rooms.
No, this is not true. The Archives specialised Bringing Them Home service, which provides the Stolen Generation and their families access to records in the Archives collection will continue. The service is provided in conjunction with Link-up services in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria, which help people find the records; copies are provided by the National Archives through Link-up or directly to the person requesting the copies. This service for the Stolen Generation and their families is free of charge.
The Archives provides a national reference service that provides reference services to remote communities, and people can ring, write, go online or send an email. For Stolen Generation people, they can also contact the Archives directly, or can go to their Link-up organisation who will contact the Archives for them.
No, the Archives has no plans to centralise its collection and services. The Archives will continue to store and provide access to our records from our offices in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The Archives is also working with local cultural institutions and stakeholders in all three states about possible relocation options.
Planning is continuing to replace existing ageing facilities in Canberra with a new building, but there has been no budget approval at this time. Should approval be given the new preservation facility is to be used to store the material already in Canberra, and new material from the many agencies based in Canberra. It will also provide specialist cold storage for the extensive audio visual records held by the Archives.
The Archives will use its existing storage capacity in its other offices, and is working with local cultural institutions and stakeholders in all three states about possibly locating some archives with them.
No archives will be destroyed.
There are no plans to close other offices.